LCQ8: Safety and health at work in confined spaces
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Question:
Regarding safety and health at work in confined spaces, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Code of Practice for Safety and Health at Work in Confined Spaces (CoP) was revised last year by adding, among others, the requirement for proprietors or contractors to record videos at the entrance and exit of the confined spaces throughout the entire work period, of the number of work sites involving confined space operations that have been inspected since the revision of the CoP, and whether any violations of the CoP by proprietors or contractors have been identified during the inspections; if so, of the main nature of such violations, and the numbers of written warnings, suspension notices, and improvement notices issued in response to such violations, as well as the number of prosecutions initiated; among these prosecutions, of the number of convictions and the penalties imposed;
(2) given that the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) launches the "OSH Enhancement Scheme for SMEs for Safe Work at Confined Space 2.0" (Enhancement Scheme) to subsidise eligible small and medium enterprises for purchasing equipment such as gas detectors and man-down alarm devices, of the number of application quotas available under the Enhancement Scheme and the numbers of applications received, approved, and rejected by the OSHC in each of the past three years and this year to date, with a breakdown by nature of business of the enterprise (e.g. drainage services, construction, and mechanical and electrical engineering); of the average amount of subsidy for the approved applications (set out by new applicants and enterprises previously subsidised), and the main reasons for applications being rejected;
(3) given that the OSHC launches the OSH Star Enterprise - Confined Space Safety Accreditation Scheme (Accreditation Scheme) to provide enterprises specialising in confined space work with, among others, occupational safety and health (OSH) consultancy service and subsidies for purchasing safety equipment, of the numbers of enterprise applications received, approved, and currently under vetting by the OSHC under the Accreditation Scheme in each of the past three years and this year to date, with a breakdown by nature of business of the enterprise (e.g. drainage services, construction, and mechanical and electrical engineering); of the average amount of subsidy for the approved applications;
(4) of the progress of the investigation to identify the causes of the fatal industrial accident involving a manhole that occurred on Yuen Wo Road in Sha Tin on April 22 last year, and whether prosecution has been initiated against those held liable for the accident; if so, of the details;
(5) as it is reported that the authorities indicated last year that they would study the possibility of including clauses in sewer cleaning contracts to stipulate that if workers who are originally not supposed to enter a manhole subsequently need to do so, the Drainage Services Department must be informed and its approval had to be obtained in advance, of the progress made in this regard;
(6) given that according to a paper submitted by the Government to the Panel on Manpower of this Council in June 2022, the Labour Department (LD) has established a notification system with key government departments/statutory bodies responsible for drainage works (including the Airport Authority Hong Kong, the Housing Department, the Highways Department and the Drainage Services Department), under which these government departments/statutory bodies will notify the LD of the date and time of all their drainage works or underground pipeworks that require workers to enter confined spaces, so as to facilitate surprise inspections by the LD as appropriate according to a risk-based strategy, of the number of works notified by these government departments/statutory bodies in each year since the establishment of the notification system, and the number of these works that have been inspected by the LD, with a breakdown by the notifying government department/statutory body; during these inspections, whether there are any cases where contractors were found to have violated the CoP and/or relevant OSH legislation (including the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Confined Spaces) Regulation (Cap. 59AE), the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59), and the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509)); if so, of the details, including the number of cases and their nature, as well as the follow-up actions taken, with a breakdown by the notifying government department/statutory body; and
(7) whether it will consider establishing a mandatory reporting mechanism for work in confined spaces, requiring contractors to report prior to commencing higher-risk work in confined space, so as to facilitate the authorities to arrange targeted inspections to enhance the safety of frontline workers?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Drainage Services Department (DSD), my consolidated reply to the Hon Chau Siu-chung's question is as follows:
(1) and (6) The Labour Department (LD) conducts inspections of workplaces across the territory from time to time to ensure the safety and health of workers at work. As inspection of work in confined space is an integral part of the LD's routine occupational safety and health inspection, the LD did not specifically keep separate statistics on the number of routine inspection for such workplaces and related enforcement statistics. However, the LD has established a notification mechanism with key Government departments and a statutory body (including Drainage Services Department (DSD), Housing Department, Highways Department and the Airport Authority Hong Kong) responsible for drainage works since 2022. These parties will notify the LD regularly of the date and time of all their drainage works or underground pipeworks that require workers to enter confined spaces so as to facilitate the LD to select those confined space works with higher risk for surprise inspection and enhanced enforcement actions according to a risk-based strategy. Since the establishment of the notification mechanism to May 2025, the LD received a total of 8 608 notifications and conducted 780 inspections. The relevant notification and inspection figures are at Annex 1.
During surprise inspections of confined space work, the LD personnel will review the relevant procedures and equipment, such as whether risk assessments have been conducted and whether corresponding risk control measures have been implemented, whether workers meet the requirements of training and relevant work experience, and whether workers engaged in underground pipeworks are wearing approved breathing apparatus and appropriate safety harnesses. In addition, since the revised "Code of Practice for Safety and Health at Work in Confined Spaces" came into effect on November 30, 2024, the LD personnel will pay particular attention to whether proprietors or contractors have implemented relevant measures in accordance with the Code, including recording videos at the entrances and exits of confined spaces while at work to further protect the occupational safety and health of workers. In the past three years, the LD has issued a total of 13 improvement notices and 136 warning letters to proprietors or contractors in the surprise inspections of workplaces that were notified to the LD through the notification system. The main irregularities involved failure to conduct comprehensive risk assessments, issuance of incomplete work permits, and failure to properly use approved breathing apparatus, etc. The relevant enforcement figures are at Annex 2.
(2) The Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) launched the "OSH Enhancement Scheme for SMEs for Safe Work at Confined Space 2.0" in June 2022 to subsidise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in purchasing appropriate safety equipment, including gas detectors and motion-sensing alarm devices, providing free relevant training courses and offering one-stop risk assessments. The scheme aims to help SMEs enhance safety standards in confined space work, particularly in workplaces such as manholes, sewers, and pipelines, and prevent accidents. Details of the scheme and related statistics are at Annex 3.
(3) The OSHC launched the OSH Star Enterprise - Confined Space Safety Accreditation Scheme in 2022. This scheme aims to provide tailor-made free OSH consultancy services, training courses, and subsidies for purchasing safety equipment to enterprises that have work conducted in confined spaces (such as manholes, sewers, pressure vessels/boilers, tunnels, pipelines, and water tanks). It also certifies enterprises that achieve a certain level of occupational safety and health performance, helping the industry to raise the standard of safety and health at work. Additionally, it facilitates owners or site managers to identify contractors with better occupational safety and health performance. Enterprises that successfully pass OSHC certification will become OSH Star Enterprise - Confined Space and be listed in the OSH Star Enterprise List – Confined Space Safety Accreditation Scheme for users' reference. Relevant statistics for the scheme are at Annex 4.
(4) The LD is highly concerned about the fatal work accident involving drainage works that occurred at Yuen Wo Road Playground in Sha Tin on the night of April 22, 2024. The LD has completed the investigation swiftly. Having consulted the Department of Justice, the LD has initiated a total of 43 prosecutions against the relevant contractor and subcontractor under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59) and its subsidiary regulations. The case is now under judicial proceedings.
(5) After the aforementioned fatal accident in Yuen Wo Playground in Sha Tin, the DSD immediately suspended all sewer cleansing work and conducted a detailed review of the relevant work procedure. The DSD updated its practice note and contract provisions related to work in confined space on May 31, 2024 and June 28, 2024, respectively. It is now stipulated that if a workers' entry into a confined space (including manhole) was not expected in project initially but it is found later that such entry is necessary, the contractor must immediately suspend the relevant work and notify the DSD. The contractor shall complete a risk assessment and implement necessary safety requirements in accordance with code of practice of confined space work, and obtain approval from the DSD before entering the confined space to carry out work.
(7) In addition to the above-mentioned notification mechanism established between the LD and the key Government departments and the statutory body responsible for drainage works, the LD also revised the Code of Practice for Safety and Health at Work in Confined Spaces in 2024 and strengthened related publicity and education to raise occupational safety and health awareness within the industry. In addition, the mandatory safety training courses for confined space operations, revised in accordance with the aforementioned Code, was also launched on November 30, 2024, to further enhance the safety standards of related work. We will continue to adopt a multi-pronged strategy, including strengthening inspections and enforcement, publicity and promotion, as well as education and training, to prevent accidents.
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:36
Issued at HKT 11:36
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